Tag: Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj

In response to reporters questions, our foreign minister Sushma Swaraj made India’s fair and strong response, “India believes in UN sanctions but not in country-specific sanctions. New Delhi and India do not believe in “reactionary” policies and would not be dictated to by other countries. We don’t make our foreign policy under pressure from other countries.”

This was before her meeting with Iran’s foreign minister in Delhi. India will continue to trade Iran and Venezuela (despite the controversial presidential election) – India gets lots of oil from both of them.

India has lots of interest in Iran given our centuries old cultural bonds. India will complete the building of the port of Chabahar on the Gulf of Oman – this is a critical port which allows us to establish trade routes that bypass rival Pakistan.

One must say that our growing self-confidence, clarity and clear expression on all foreign policy matters is visible and highly commendable!!!

PM Modi and his government help release a a Catholic priest and another Catholic aid-worker from the clutches of death in Afghanistan. This gov’t also help release Alexis Prem Kumar, a Jesuit priest abducted by Islamists in Afghanistan. More recently, this gov’t also helped release Judith D’Souza, an aid worker with the Aga Khan Foundation in Afghanistan. In every case, the close family of those captured profusely thanked this gov’t, our PM Modi and foreign minister Sushma Swaraj. But the Catholic and christian bishops and other clergy has been highly critical and ungrateful and even accusatory of the country efforts. The the archbishop of Syro-Malabar Church in Ernakulam, Kerala, spoke of “the vicious nature of Hindu fundamentalism”, but never mentioned the the virulent proselytizing activities aggressively pursued by churches across India. The church groups were blaming this gov’t for unsubstantiated attacks on churches. John Dayal, a journalist-turned-Christian-crusader, was spewing venom against the Modi government at every available forum. The Catholic News Service played the great efforts of this government, and instead thanks God and the Vatican for the release of those prisoners. Official Catholic diocese publications in Tamil Nadu were demonizing Prime Minister Modi, and on and on. It also feels that the Also, the church groups don’t hesitate to join hands with political forces that are against the idea of India.